Step 1 - Registration

The non-refundable registration fee is $35, and it grants the candidate 1 year to provide the necessary documentation and pass both written and oral exams. We encourage you to have your prerequisite documentation ready and upload them during the registration process. You may upload additional documents at a later time, if needed.

CMI Prerequisites for Spanish:

Minimum Age: All candidates must submit proof of being at least 18 years old (the age of majority as defined by the federal government). A driver’s license or a birth certificate or passport copy are acceptable proofs of age.

General Education: All candidates must submit proof of having at least a high school education level. A high school diploma, a GED, or any degree from an institution of higher education are acceptable proofs of general education.

Profile Photo: All candidates must upload a recent professional photo of themselves to their NBCMI profile.

Medical Interpreter Education: All candidates must submit proof of training specific to medical interpreting. You must submit either:

a Certificate of Completion from an approved medical interpreter training course of at least 40 hours

a transcript from a college or university where you took at least 3 credit hours of medical interpreting coursework.

A registry of some of the approved training programs is posted on the IMIA and CHIA web sites. This is not a complete list as there are many other programs not listed in the registry that are acceptable, please check with the program you choose to ensure it meets the medical interpreter training requirements.

Disclaimer: The National Board cannot recommend one course over another and is not responsible for the content of any course listed. Neither NBCMI nor IMIA is involved in the development of these training courses. No NBCMI staff is involved in the approval of training courses.

Note: The interpreter training required for admission to the CMI program is training in medical interpreting. That requirement cannot be waived for anyone, regardless of how much other training and experience they have. Even doctors have the same prerequisite requirements as all other candidates.

Oral proficiency in English:One of the following:

Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, or any other degree from an institution of higher education in the U.S. or other English language country.

High school diploma from a high school in the U.S. or other English language country or from an American School abroad.

One of the following tests (subject to change):

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): 570+ on paper; 230+ on computer version; 90+ on iBT.

ELPT (English Language Proficiency Test): 950+

ECPE (Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English): PASS

FCE (First Certificate in English, Level 3): A

CAE (Certificate in Advanced English, Level 4): B

CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English, Level 5): B

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) 7.0

Oral proficiency in Spanish:One of the following:

Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, or any other degree from an institution of higher education where Spanish is spoken.

High school diploma from a high school in a country where Spanish is spoken

24+ semester college credit hours of Spanish

ACTFL Oral Exams (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages): Advanced Mid Level (follow this link www.languagetesting.com) - both the OPI (telephonic) and OPIc (computer recording) are acceptable.

To be granted the CMI-Spanish credential, individuals must meet all of the eligibility prerequisites and pass BOTH the written and oral examinations. To pass the written exam, your percentage score must be at least 75%. To pass the Spanish oral exam, your percentage score must be at least 70%.

The registration fee is non-refundable.

Fees Expiration and Refunds Policies: The program registration fee is non-refundable and is an annual fee, Your initial registration payment is good for one year of the program; after one year, if you have not yet completed the program and you want to take additional tests, you must pay a $35 re-registration fee to continue the program.